


Little Secrets

by Chloe_Creep



Category: Polygrumps - Fandom, Shipgrumps - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 13:18:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7440712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_Creep/pseuds/Chloe_Creep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ross continuously bugs his boyfriend Barry about his sneaking suspicion that their Art and Music teachers, Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson, have a relationship. After Ross gets too out of hand with his theories and finds out their true, the teachers' lives quickly spiral out of control.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Secrets

“They totally like each other! It’s so fucking obvious!” Ross insisted. Barry only rolled his eyes and continued to chew his sandwich. 

“Just because they share a classroom and do a lot of projects together doesn’t mean they’re in love or anything. Plus, Mr. Hanson already has a girlfriend” Barry said, swallowing his food. 

“You’re one to talk Mr. in a poly relationship with me and Holly” Ross giggled, “But seriously though, remember that one day when they were up announcing their homeworks together? Vernon said that he saw Mr. Avidan reach over and touch Mr. Hanson’s butt. Remember? He blushed and everything!” Ross argued. 

“What do you think Kevin?” Barry asked, looking over to his younger friend. Although he was only in 8th grade still, Kevin sat with Barry and Ross everyday at lunch, even though they were Juniors. He only shrugged his shoulders and popped a strawberry in his mouth. 

“I wouldn't be surprised if they were, but I’d need some good proof first” Kevin sighed. 

“If proof is what you want, proof is what I'll get you” Ross smiled, getting a determined, yet devilish look on his face. 

“Uh oh, what are you planning?” Barry asked, “this isn't gonna be like the time you tried to convince me Mr. Fischbach and Mr. McLoughlin were friends with benefits?”

Ross suddenly leaned in super close to his face and donned a cocky grin. “You’ll see” he sang, “and I still believe they’re secretly banging” 

“Oh my god dude” Barry giggled as the bell rang, dismissing them. 

“I swear dude, just watch in Creative Arts class” Ross said before running off to his next period. The next few periods were full and boring, only filled with listening to a teacher blab on or scrawling down notes. That's why when Ross and Barry finally did have Creative Arts Class, they were more than excited. Ross and Barry only had two periods with each other, excluding lunch. This was one of them. However, instead of hiding their usual spot in the back of the classroom, Ross insisted that they sat up front so he could point out “all the gay shit that's in the air”. The next 80 minutes would just be full of Ross giggling and nudging Barry. 

The Creative Arts room was large. There wasn't enough space on the school to have separate rooms for art and music, so the school decided on using the last space and jamming them both together. 8 long tables with 4 chairs at each were lined up near the center of the classroom. One was lined with cabinets and pieces of artwork from former students while the other was a line of windows. At each of the far ends were white boards and the teachers’ desks. 

Mr. Avidan used to have the whole room to himself, before cut backs. He also wasn’t too keen on the idea of having to share his room with the old, nagy art teacher. But everything turned around when she announced her retirement and left before they had to share. Instead, a new teacher, fresh out of college, minus a year of being a substitute, moved in last year when Ross and Barry were Sophomores. Hushed rumors only bubbled around with small groups of girls then, but now basically anyone who had Creative Arts classes watched out and wondered what their current relationship was. 

Today when the students arrived, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Avidan were standing side by side at Arin’s end of the room, waiting for everyone to file in. As soon as they settled, the students turned their chairs to look at the two teachers, awaiting instruction. It wasn’t too rare to see them in these positions, but it always meant one thing; conjoined projects. 

A student who signed up for Art class would be paired with another person from Music and get guidelines for some sort of project that relied on one another. Ross was in art, while Barry had gone for Music, so they’d typically work together. Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson were different than most teachers when it came to projects like this. Most would just explain what to do, give a few guidelines and let the class figure it out while they sat back and graded papers or some other task. Mr. Hanson and Mr. Avidan would actually do the project as well during class, working with one another to show the others what to do. This was another thing Ross gushed about to Barry and used as evidence. Barry wasn’t at all convinced. 

“Alright, you guys know the drill. Go find a partner that you’ll be working with for the next five days” Mr Hanson announced, pulling a clipboard off his desk and starting to write down the pairs. 

“For this project", Mr Avidan started, "My class will be in charge of composing an original song. Lyrics are optional, though may greatly assist the artist" 

"And my kids will be making an illustration based off the other one's work. You have a choice of markers, watercolors, pastels, or acrylic if you so please. You guys will only be judged on how creative you are, not skill. Please try your best, yadda yadda, you get the point" Mr. Hanson trailed off. 

"Oh, and you guys can help each other, don't hesitate to give a little criticism. That being said, don't be a d-bag about it either" Mr. Avidan smiled, "If you have any questions, just come up and ask"

The students started their chatter, explaining and brainstorming up a multitude of ideas. Barry pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on top. 

"Alright, have any good ideas?" he asked, handing Ross his pencil and sliding over the sheet. Ross gently tapped it on his chin and stared at the ceiling for a moment, before grinning. 

"What about people who are secretly in love and-"

"Hell no. We are not turning in something like that to them" Barry interrupted. 

"Ah, cmon Bear. Why are you so worried about it anyway? Do you believe I'm right or something and that they'll get upset that we discovered their little secret? Is that it?" Ross snickered. 

“Well no I just… On the off chance you are right…” Barry grumbled.

“Ha! Admit it! You think I'm right! You think Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson are-”

“We're what now?” Mr. Hanson cut in. Ross and Barry’s heads spun to look at him, eyes wide and faces beet red. 

“That y-you guys are… H-his favorite teachers! And I t-totally got him to admit it” Ross stammered, almost tripping over his words. 

“Aw, really? I'm flattered. But maybe if you really want to suck up, you should be thinking of ideas?” He said with a slight laughter in his voice, “no offense guys, but what you've got so far is pretty lame” 

Mr. Hanson glanced down at their Ideas sheet on the table. The only thing written yet was “Maybe some trees? Or like, beauty of wind and stuff” 

“I had another idea!” Ross announced, grabbing the paper and beginning to scrawl. Barry kicked him under the table but Ross continued writing until he handed the paper up to his teacher. Mr. Hanson stared at it for a minute, almost studying the words and getting lost in thought. 

“This isn't half bad actually, I like it! I'm not in charge or anything, but I say do this one” Mr. Hanson said, handing them back the paper. He nodded and smiled, before walking back to the front of the classroom. 

“Why the hell did you show that to him!” Barry yelled in a hushed voice. 

“He said he liked it! And we had nothing else at the moment! I say we do it” Ross smiled. Barry rolled his eyes and groaned before huffing out a quick “fine”. Ross was jumping for joy in his seat, not wanting to draw too much attention. 

“Oh, and why do you think Mr. Hanson came over in the first place?” Barry asked. 

“Because basically everyone heard the last bit of your conversation. Pretty much everyone jumped when Ross screamed ‘Ha’.” The student behind them bud in. Ross suddenly got an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks. The student turned back to their own work as Barry held Ross’s hand under the table so he would calm down. Eventually, Ross took a deep breath and sat back up straight. 

“I guess we'd better get started then, right?” He said triumphantly, yet quiet. Barry nodded and flipped the paper over, starting to scribble down more ideas and words. Ross leaned against his shoulder while he wrote and every now and then gave him advice or his own ideas. They were mostly just ways it could flow better or different words that made it sound nicer. It took up more than half of the 80 minute class period, but they had finished their first draft. The two looked it over quickly. 

“You built me a home with just your smile  
You gave me a heart by giving me half of your own  
And it feels like hell knowing you so well  
But no one else can know how I feel

When I shut my eyes I feel I’ve wasted my time  
Cause we don’t have much and should spend that time looking at you  
And though I have to hide it  
It’s so hard to fight it  
Not holding your hand whenever I can

Hush, don’t tell anyone  
I don’t want to lose you  
Run away with me  
Take my hand  
Take a stand  
And we can stay our little secrets”

 

“Dude, do you really think that’s not too obvious?” Barry asked, scooting out of his chair. 

“I mean...It’s still a good song even if they might figure it out. Still though, I don’t think we have any other ideas, and almost everyone else is already working at the computers” Ross shrugged. Barry nodded, got up and walked to a small nook in the room with Ross in tow. A few computers and desks were set up. He logged in and hopped onto Garageband.

“Alright, what are you planning? Bass line? Piano? What?” Ross asked, smushing his face against Barry’s. 

“I have no idea. But those work I guess” Barry shrugged, dragging in new tracks and setting up to try recording a specific melody. He input different notes and chords with the keyboard, but would often just shrug and delete it because he thought he had messed up or that he could do better. Ross thought every time was perfect, but he let Barry retry until the end of the period. As the bell rang, Barry saved what they made so far and the two went on their way to the last few classes of the day. 

~~~

They went to work right as they entered class the next day. Ross tried writing some of the piece, but he'd constantly mess up one key in the progression and delete his whole track out of rage.

“You know we can just edit that so-” Barry started.

“No, I know I can do this. I just gotta…” Ross tried again and failed near the last part. He dropped his head on the desk and mumbled “fuck”. Barry gave him a quick pat on the back and tried recording the part himself, nailing it on the first try. 

“Well aren't you fucking special you piece of shit” Ross groaned with a slight giggle. Barry shrugged and grew a smug grin. 

‘What can I say, I’m just that good” he smiled. Ross sat up and took a deep breath. 

“I guess I’ll start on the painting portion” he grumbled. Ross made his way to the other end of the room where all of the art supplies were organized. Canvases were stacked neatly and nicely, despite the fact they were all of varying size. Some had arrived to the school through random donation while others Mr. Hanson had brought in himself. He was an artist outside of school as well, but would bring in his extra canvases to the class after an art project was completed. Ross grabbed one on the large side and an easel, setting it up near Barry before going back and grabbing a few brushes, watercolors, and a jar of water. 

Ross started out sketching with a pencil on the canvas, lightly making outlines of ideas, though often sighing and starting again. His head was too full of ideas, yet that made him unable to choose one. He groaned and looked at Barry, 

"You have any ideas for this?" Ross tapped that pencil on the blank canvas, still littered with eraser flecks. 

"You're the artist dude. Plus, wasn't it your idea to do this whole 'two people that like each other in secret' thing? You must have at least one" Barry shrugged. Ross's eyes suddenly widened. And idea suddenly rushed into his head, like it was out showing the rest of his previous ones. 

"Oooh, you got something, don't you" Barry teased. Ross had moments like this frequently, where a difficult problem he had been struggling with would suddenly provide an answer all at once. Ross nodded and leaned in, beginning to sketch lines on the blank white board. Barry grinned before turning back to his computer to resume his work. He made reference lines all over the place and was constantly erasing, but eventually a silhouette appeared on one side of the canvas. Barry leaned over to look at what he’d done so far and smiled. 

“Nice!” he complimented. Ross’s chest flurried. He wasn’t sure why, maybe it’s because he loved and respected Barry so much, but whenever Barry gave him praise, it meant a little extra that it would have from anyone else. Ross went right to work on the other silhouette but found this one to be harder. 

“Fuck, I can’t get this right. I feel more comfortable drawing people facing this direction” Ross whined, erasing his work for the 14th time now. Barry thought with a pout, before grabbing the canvas and flipping it over. 

“There, now you can draw it that direction” Barry said. 

“But… it’s upside down” Ross complained. Barry pursed his lips. 

“I like it, I personally think it’d look cool with one of them flipped over. But hey, it’s your drawing” Barry shrugged. Ross cocked his head to the side to look at it from a different angle. Now he was beginning to see what Barry was talking about, it gave the piece a little extra umph. He went to work, sketching out the second body, but not finishing before the bell rang, dismissing them to their next class. Barry saved his progress and Ross stored his canvas somewhere safe. 

~~~  
Today, the students were to announce and present what they had made so far. As usual, the teachers went first as a way to set the tone of the presentations in a way. Dan pulled out his laptop and started his track. It started out slowly, short blips of twinkling piano and light base in the back. The volumes rose, trying to simulate tension building before it suddenly all went quiet and a new pattern of notes rang out. Mr. Avidan, however, stopped it there. It made sense that he wasn’t done, mostly because he had to keep leaving his work to help students. Arin’s canvas was even more bleak than Dan’s music. It was varying, gradient shades of color down the piece. 

After they took down their pieces, Mr. Hanson pointed to another group, motioning them to come up and present. By their project… it was obvious they had just been fucking around and not planning for the past two days. Up next was Ross and Barry. They weren’t the most prepared, but they definitely sounded like they knew what they wanted and what they were doing. The only problem with the presentation was when Ross got distracted, looking at Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson. They were watching, but every now and then they’d lean over, pull back the other’s hair and whisper in their ear before pulling away while the other struggled not to giggle. It was too fishy… But it resulted in Barry getting embarrassed when Ross didn’t take his turn speaking. As they went to sit down, Barry gently punched Ross’s arm as pay back. Even when Barry was upset or embarrassed, he could never really hurt anyone. He was like a teddy bear. The other 4 groups presented before they were dismissed again to work. Ross began to paint the background of his piece, but could help letting his mind wander. He knew there was something there. He knew the hushed rumors of Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson had to be true. Not all of them at least, so were very clearly made up, but Ross needed to find something. And then an idea hit him.

He reached over and grabbed Barry’s shoulder, shaking him a bit to make Barry ditch his headphones. 

“Barry. This is it. Today I am going to prove to you Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson have a thing for each other” Ross said in a hushed tone. Barry rolled his eyes. 

“Oh boy, what is it now?” Barry shrugged. 

“Meet me outside of this classroom today after the final bell. And Bring Kevin along too, we need someone else as a witness” Ross whispered. Barry groaned, but nodded. 

“You’re lucky I love you enough to do this” he shrugged, turning back to his computer. Ross soon began to paint in the silhouettes. One was a light, ballerina pink with features and shadows outline in a darker pink. The other one he painted with blues. When Ross looked back at his work, he actually smiled, quite proud of himself. It wasn't everyday he did a piece like this, and he was sort of surprised in himself that he could pull it off. Of course there was still some shading and details to add, but so far it was looking good. He even had Barry look, who stared at it wide eyed in awe for a moment before mumbling, “Whoa...it’s amazing…”. Again, that flurry of feeling swelled in Ross’s chest again. 

“I’m gonna go set this to dry, class is almost over anyway. How’s the song?” Ross asked. 

“Almost done” Barry smiled, clicking a few tabs and saving it for the millionth time that period. Ross carefully carried his canvas over to a driving rack and set it down. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching behind him, before stopping a little ways away. 

“Ooh, is that your project? You got far today, considering how much you tanked on the presentation” Mr. Avidan laughed. Ross turned around, embarrassed. 

“Don’t worry, I’m kidding. You guys did fine. Though you do make fast progress. Who are those people?” he continued. Ross held his breath for a second. How could he say, ‘Oh! It’s you and the other teacher that I have a feeling you’re gay for’? Ross shrugged and passed it off as just two random people. 

“Hm, well I think it’s gonna turn out great. Nice job, Ross” Dan smiled before walking off to look at a few other projects before the bell rang. Ross went back over to Barry’s side as he thought over his plan. He quickly took a piece of lined paper and scribbled down a crude drawing and Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson kissing, then left it on the floor where he knew they wouldn’t find it until the end of the day. So as the bell rang, all he had to do was wait. 

~~~

“We better not get in trouble for this Ross” Barry whined, standing outside the classroom beside Kevin. He was crossing his arms, his lips pursed, Ross quietly hushed them both. 

“Don’t say anything. They could hear us. Just look through this window and wait, okay? They’ll do something, I’m sure” Ross led them over the small pane of glass in the door, letting everyone look in. Mr. Avidan and Mr. Hanson were just talking, completely harmless chatting. 

“This is stupid” Barry mumbled, but Ross pressed a finger up to his lips. Suddenly, Mr. Avidan’s eye caught the sheet of paper on the floor Ross had left. He picked it up, studied it for a moment, before breaking into giggles. They couldn’t hear him, but his body was showing his laughter. Mr. Hanson cocked his head to the side before Dan handed the picture over, Arin beginning the chuckle as well. He soon sat the picture down and sighed, looking back up at Dan. Still just talking. 

“See? Nothing happened. Can we go now?” Barry whispered. Ross sighed, about to give up, when he saw Mr. Avidan walk around Arin’s desk. Ross quickly pulled out his phone and hit record. Dan’s eye grew narrow, as he crept closer to Arin slowly. All three leaned closer to the glass in anticipation. Suddenly, Dan put his hand on Arin’s shoulder, saying one more thing before leaning forward and…

Ross, Barry, and Kevin went bolting down the halls. The ran as fast as they could, not hesitating for anything. It wasn’t until they got outside of the school that they took time to catch their breaths. Barry held the wall for support as he looked over to Ross. 

“I can’t… believe… you were fucking right…” he huffed. Ross smiled. 

 

“And I can’t believe I got it all on video” Ross pulled out his phone again, rewatching what he had captured. The kiss, oh god the kiss. He was ecstatic. Ross pulled open his text messages, going to Holly’s contact. He sent her the video excitedly, with the caption “you’ll never believe what I captured on video”. He waited a few minutes...until finally the “Holly is typing” symbol came up. 

“Oh my god!! How did you get those? Are they real?” Holly wrote back. 

“Yup! Barry and I stayed after today. I had a suspicion it would happen” Ross boasted through his texts. 

“Well, I’m glad you were finally right about something” Holly joked. Ross rolled his eyes before turning back to Kevin and Barry. 

“I’d better get home. See you guys tomorrow?” Kevin breathed, catching the last of his breath. Ross and Barry nodded and Kevin walked off down the sidewalk, on his way home. Barry joined up by Ross’ side, still amazed. 

“You know, I gotta hand it to ya. When you’re right, you’re right. I shouldn’t have doubted you Ross” Barry smiled as he intertwined their fingers and started to walk. Ross dropped Barry off at his house before walking back to his own, with a large smile. He had done it, he was finally right. Everything seemed good, but soon everything would change.

~~~  
“Mr. Avidan… Mr. Hanson. I’ve called you into my office today to discuss a recent video that began circulating the school’s social media last night” Principal Martin huffed, using his computer monitor to show them. It was a video of when they had kissed yesterday… It seemed to be recorded off of another device, as if someone was capturing the video off of a second phone. 

“So, when you first began working here Mr. Hanson, can you tell us what our co-worker dating policy was?” the principal asked. 

“I-It was prohibited” Arin sighed. 

“Oh! Of course! You do remember! So why did you hook up with your fellow teacher?” Principal Martin growled. Arin blushed bright red. He couldn’t say anything, only looking down at his feet. 

“Do you have anything to say for yourself Mr. Avidan?” Principal Martin turned to him beside Arin. Dan took a moment to find his words.

“I...We would like to apologize, but I don’t understand why’d we be apologizing for love. This isn’t just some fling sir, we’ve moved in and-” 

“Don’t make excuses. We’ll have to take immediate action before I get a barrage of angry parent calls” he interrupted, before pulling out a piece of paper. 

“Sir, I just… I know you’re going to let us go because we broke the set rules, but please, don’t fire Daniel. He… He’s been a great teacher for such a long time, he even has tenure, and I was the first one to make advancements. I should take full responsibility” Arin spoke up timidly. Dan turned over to him, wide-eyed. 

“Arin...don’t-” 

“It’s fine Dan. Let me tell Mr. Martin the truth. I am only making a suggestion” Arin hushed, gently reaching over and brushing Dan’s hand. Dan sucked in a breath, before nodding. It was a lie. Dan was really the first one to make advances. In fact, he was the first to flirt, ask Arin out, and kiss him. The only first Arin had done was inviting him to move in with his girlfriend Suzy. When Dan heard he was already with someone, he got upset, but soon learned Arin was poly and had enough love for both of them. Not to mention Suzy was one of the sweetest, most beautiful girls Dan had ever met. Principal Martin nodded and grabbed something else off of his desk. 

“Alright. I think I’ve made my decision about this whole situation”, Principal Martin straightened a few papers before sighing, “Mr Avidan, please leave and go back to your room. I have a few words I’d like to share with Mr. Hanson alone” Dan hesitated, but silently slipped out, leaving Arin with a man he was pretty sure hated him. 

“You may keep your job with reduced pay if you end your relationship with Mr. Avidan” the principal sighed, folding his hands. Arin’s eyes widened. He swiftly changed his expression to one of a pout and replied a quick, “No, I’m sorry. I can’t do that”

“Well then, we just have a few papers to sign, and you’ll just have to clean out your desk. I’m sorry Mr. Hanson, but you’re fired. You were an excellent teacher, but rules are rules. No dating co-workers. I wish you luck in your future career” Principal Martin shrugged, sliding a few papers over the table that Arin had to sign to make this final. His hand was shaky, his signature messy and almost unreadable. All of the fears rushed into his mind as he signed, “Where will my next job be? Will Dan, Suzy, and I be able to pay rent?” Everything was so overwhelming, but the thought that he could stay with Dan helped him calm his restless mind. He handed back the forms before walking out of the office. Dan was waiting a little ways down the hall. 

“So?” he asked when Arin reached him. Arin only shrugged and looked down. “O-Oh…” Dan suddenly lunged forward and wrapped him in a hug, nuzzling into his shoulder. 

“It’s alright Ar, we’ll make it through this. There’s nothing we can’t do together, right?” Dan smiled, pulling back to just hold Arin’s hand instead. Arin grinned and nodded as they began to walk down the hall. All Arin had to do was clear out his desk and all his knick knacks around the room, before his current job was officially over. 

 

As the students walked in, they immediately noticed how bare and dry the room looked. It seemed like only one side had a pop of fresh, happy colors. The only thing more upsetting to the eye than the room was Mr. Avidan himself. He looked tired and troubled, a pitiful display in contrast to his happy, giggly normal personality. Kids still chatted about their projects or the video Ross had captured that somehow got around, trying to ignore the strange surrounding. When the bell sounded and everyone was in their seats, Mr. Avidan stopped everyone from getting up to grab their materials. He stood at the front of the room alone.

“The project is cancelled as of now. You can take home what you completed so far if you really wish to finish it. Today we’re going to be watching an informational video. We’ll uh...have to continue with this video lessons until we have an Art teacher replacement” Mr. Avidan sighed, before turning back to his desk and slipping in a disk to the DVD player. Everyone shared confused looks and whispers. Vernon was the only student to actually raise his hand for Dan to call on him.

“Why do we need a replacement art teacher? What happened to Mr. Hanson?” He asked. Dan cringed a little. He already knew what the question was going to be before it came out of Vernon’s mouth. Dan ran his fingers through his hair before clearing his throat. 

“Mr. Hanson was fired this morning. You may see him walking around today, as he is still picking up his belongings but other than that he will no longer be with us” Everyone began muttering and gasping. They already knew what the reasoning was. 

Ross’ heart basically stopped. This...this whole mess… It was all his fault, all of it. He had to be nosey, he had to send the video, he had to prove himself right but in doing so, he had gotten one of his favorite teachers fired. 

The educational movie was beyond boring. Most students just fell asleep. Even the lazy kids would’ve rather been working on their projects than watching this shit. Mr. Avidan was sitting at his desk, just completing paperwork. He normally did that at home and had something fun or some sort of project at his desk to play with. But nope, just grading papers now. When the bell finally rang, it told kids to wake up like an annoying alarm clock, or the ones that did stay awake to get the hell out of there. Barry met Ross out in the hall, preparing to walk back to their lockers that were relatively close. The first thing out of Ross’ mouth was, “What have I done?” Barry pulled him in for a hug, patting his hair. 

“Come on, you didn’t mean it Rossy. I know you were just trying to do something that got out of hand. You didn’t mean for any of this to happen” Barry soothed. Ross wrapped his arms around Barry’s waist and buried his face into his chest. 

“I’m such an idiot. God, I’m such a fucking idiot! I just wanted to be right for once Barry! Just right about one thing! This was the first thing I’ve been right about and it explodes up in my face” Ross sighed. Barry slowly swayed him back and forth. 

“Is that what this is all about? Being right?” Barry asked. Ross sighed and slowly nodded into Barry’s shirt. Barry suddenly pulled back to look into his eyes. His eyes were stern, but he a faint smile. 

“Ross, you’re right about a lot of things!” Barry insisted. 

“Like what?” Ross sniffed. 

“Well… What about me and Holly and Kevin and Vernon. You were right about friend choices. And uh… that time you corrected the teacher? Oh wait, that wasn’t you...uh…” Barry tried to think but came up blank. 

“See? I’m just an idiot. I just wanted you to be proud of me because I was actually right for once..” Ross shrugged, looking down at his feet and playing with the hem of his t-shirt. Barry grabbed Ross’ shoulders. 

“Ross, you don’t have to be right all the time for me to love you. You should know I love you because of your imperfections. It’s fine if you’re incorrect about a lot of things, I’m just proud of you for trying. And hey, you may fuck up along the way, but I’m always here for you to help pick you up when you’re down...okay?” Barry had a serious, but confident tone of voice. Ross nodded and hugged Barry one last time, Barry giving Ross a small peck on the forehead. They began making their journey to their lockers again, when Holly ran up.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! One of the girls saw the video you sent and took my phone! Before I could get it back, they took a video and shared it around and now I just-” Holly frantically retold the story, apologizing every few seconds. 

“Hol, It’s fine. We both know you didn’t mean it” Ross grinned when she finished, grabbing her hand in his own . 

“A-Are the rumors true though? That he got fired?” Holly asked. Ross sighed and nodded. 

“Oh… Shit Ross, this is awful. W-We have to apologize or something!” Holly shrugged. Holly always wanted to do the right thing, even when it was hard or even impossible. Though she was persistent in making everyone happy. 

“I’m not sure how we can do that Hol, I don’t know if we’ll see him again soon” Barry shrugged. Holly tapped her chin. 

“Why not just like, make a card and pass it on through Mr. Avidan? I mean, the rumors must’ve been true if he got fired. They’re dating so he must be able to” Holly blinked. Barry and Ross both exchanged awkward glances. 

“But...then they’ll know it’s out faults. What if they’re mad at us?” Ross mumbled. Holly pursed her lips. 

“So you just want to get Mr. Hanson fired without saying sorry? Don’t you think he deserves who ruined his job at least?” Ross sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Aww, you’re right. We at least owe that to him. I’ll write a note or something and hand it off to Mr. Avidan after school” 

“It’s the least we can do. But right now we gotta get to class” Holly said. The bell would ring soon and none of them had gone to their lockers yet. They all ran off, trying to make it on time. 

~~~

Ross had spent the past couple periods constructing his note. He wanted it to be perfect. It was difficult to make a note that basically said “Sorry I ruined your career, here’s my apology with a slip of paper” but he finally did get it to a point that sounded good, or at least decent enough. He was now standing outside of the Arts and- well, just Music Room for now with the paper in hand, trying to summon the courage to hand it over. Would he tell Mr. Avidan? Or would he let Mr. Hanson tell him after reading the note? Before Ross could answer the questions, Mr. Avidan opened the door and eyed him confusedly. 

“Mr. O’Donovan? Did you want to see me?” he asked. His voice was so flat and dull. Ross began to sweat, holding out the paper. 

“I-It’s for Mr. Hanson” he murmured. Dan’s eyes grew wide, but he slid it into his shirt pocket. 

“I’ll be sure to give it to him. What is it about?” Dan questioned. Ross sighed. He had to say it. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. 

“This is my fault and I needed to say sorry” Ross was practically whispering in fear that Dan would yell and be cross with him. However, he said nothing for a long time. Ross looked back up to see Mr. Avidan with a pouty expression. 

“You’re the little snoop, huh? Don’t worry Ross, okay? I know you didn’t mean to get us in trouble. Just… stay out of other people’s business, will you?” Mr. Avidan shrugged. Ross’s eyes grew wide. 

“You’re seriously not upset?” Ross mumbled. Dan shook his head no. 

“This is just a bump in the road for Ari- Mr. Hanson and I, okay? We’ll be fine. I’m sure he finds a job he likes soon at least, he’s just doing a bunch of minimum wage jobs now, going to start working at one tomorrow in fact, and another one the next day. I just hopes he doesn't take this too far. Well, thank you for your apology Ross” Dan nodded, slipping out of his room and walking past Ross, down the hall, before disappearing behind a corner. That was..easier than Ross expected. But he still felt sad. There had to be something more he could do, but what? 

~~~

“Hey babe! You in the bedroom?” Dan called, stepping in through the front door. He set his jacket and briefcase down, finally getting to relax. 

“Yeah, just organizing everything I brought home” Arin replied. Dan walked into their bedroom, smiling as he saw Arin shuffle through boxes of his desk knick-knacks. Arin held up a mug he had received from a nice student on Teacher Appreciation Day. “I’m gonna miss those kids” he sighed, placing it in some tissue paper and storing it away in another box. 

“They’ll miss you too. Don’t worry Ar, we’ll be okay. You know, Ross O’Donovan wanted me to give you this” Dan pulled the small slip of folded paper out of his pocket and handed it over. Arin pulled it open and read over it, before balling it up and tossing it into the trash-can like a basketball star. 

“Nice kid. At least he was polite enough to admit he fucked up and apologize” Arin sighed. 

“I know. Most of them would just not care and let it go like it was nothing. But I think he knew from the first day we started flirting. I wonder if anyone else did.” Dan sat down next to him, popping off his shoes. Arin leaned his head over onto Dan’s shoulder and sighed. 

“So you start at the retail store tomorrow and then dishwashing too on Thursday?” Dan asked. 

“And t-shirt printing until midnight” Arin groaned, leaning more of his weight onto Dan. Dan wrapped his arm around Arin’s waist and ran the fingers of his free hand through Arin’s hair. 

“Aw, take it easy, okay? I still don’t understand why you insisted on picking up three jobs. We have enough money” Dan said. 

“Yeah but… I feel bad, like, I wanna pull my weight still. Even if we have more than enough, we have to save for Summer when you stop making cash, you know?” Arin shrugged. Dan nodded as he tucked a stray strand of hair that hung in Arin’s face behind his ear.

“Just promise me you won’t overwork yourself?” Dan said. Arin looked over and pecked him on the cheek. “Promise”

The next morning, Arin had to wake up a little earlier than he was used to, which threw him off. Waking up with Dan had been his normal routine for a while now, but instead now he carefully and quietly slipped out of bed as not to wake him. He walked out into the kitchen and brewed himself a pot of coffee, before putting on a kettle of water for Dan to make his morning tea. Today would be easy at least, the boss called him in to show him the ropes and get some documents signed. No dealing with actual customers today. He threw on an iron, salmon colored shirt and black dress pants. It may have been a bit too formal, but Arin’s closet consisted of only very formal teacher wear or way too casual clothes, nothing in between. The safer option were the dress clothes. As he grabbed his keys, he heard Dan get up from the bed and walk down the hallway. Arin moved and got against the wall, deciding he could spare a little time to give Dan a little good bye scare. As Dan stepped out from behind the corner, Arin yelled “Rawrghhh!” and lunged, wrapping Dan in a hug. Dan jumped and screamed, before realizing the person who had tackled him was just Arin. 

“What the fuck!” he screamed, still shaking. Arin couldn’t help but laugh, despite feeling a bit bad that he had scared him. 

“I’m sorry, but you’re just too...scareable. It’s sorta cute” Arin chuckled. Dan was still shaking and even though Arin was the one who frightened him, he couldn’t help leaning into his chest to calm himself down. Arin just had a calming feeling to him, like a big stuffed animal who you hugged when you were stressed. 

“You’re lucky I love you so much or else I would’ve kicked your ass” Dan mumbled. Arin scoffed. 

“Dan you’re the human equivalent of a puppy” Arin smiled. 

“Puppies can be dangerous sometimes” Dan pouted. Arin went up on his toes to give Dan a kiss on the forehead before letting him go. 

“Alright, I gotta head to work. Don’t wanna be late on the first day. Your tea water should be done in a minute so keep an eye on it” Arin said. Dan nodded and leaned over against the wall. “Good luck”. Arin nodded and turned, walking out the door and to his car. He slipped in promptly and drove off. The store was relatively close by luckily, but in order to walk there, Arin would have had to get up at half past four, so walking was out of the question. He parked, went inside, and back to the manager's office near the back of the store. He greeted Arin nicely and had him take a seat. 

“Now Mr. Hanson, all we have to do is introduce you to a few staff members, review a few guidelines, and teach you how to handle customers” the man started, pulling out a few papers and sliding them over. 

“These are the dress code guidelines, a list of phone numbers, and the rules we abide by at this store. I’m glad to have you on board” the man held out his hand. Arin gulped and reached out to shake it. He had always been told “you need to have a good handshake” so a lot more pressure was on this than there should have been. He tried to be firm, but not too hard and not keep it going for too long. When he pulled away, Arin noticed the boss get a small grin in the corner of his mouth. He sighed, this at least put him at ease. The boss stood up and walked to the door.

“Come on, let’s take a tour. You can meet your future co-workers on the way”. He led Arin through the store, showing him the different departments. There was a clothes section, separated into men’s and women’s and a toy department and appliances and even furniture. 

“You’ll be working in women's apparel. We don’t have any other positions open at the moment but I’m sure you’ll do fine” he smiled. There were other workers walking around. When they’d walk by, the boss would introduce them to Arin before continuing through the store. Finally, he showed Arin to his counter. 

“Now, you’ll be working register, restocking and rehanging, and helping customers. Your shift is from seven to two, but you need to be here by six. You work Tuesdays to Saturdays. Do not be afraid to be stern, but if you ever get any nasty customers that won’t listen to reason, call me and I’ll come out to calm them down. The speed dial is two on the phone next to the register. You know how to work the register, correct?” the manager confirmed. Arin nodded his head and moved behind the register, demonstrating what he knew.. 

“Do you know know how to remove security tags?” the manager asked. Arin bit his lip. 

“I don’t think so” he sighed. 

“Hm, alright, I’ll get Morgan to show you. It’s not too hard. Just meet me back in my office once you’re done” the boss nodded before walking away. I wasn’t too long before someone approached him at the register with a skirt in hand. She had a name tag that read “Morgan”. 

“You’re the newbie, hm? Here, why don’t you take a shot at removing this tag” she handed him the skirt before leaning up against the counter and tapping her fingers. Arin found the beige tag attached to the skirt and simply tried pulling it off. Morgan sighed and rubbed her temples. 

“No Hun, You’re supposed to use that thing on the desk there, see?” Morgan instructed. She pointed to a strange indentation on the desk. Arin set the tag in it, but once he pulled it back out, the tag was still attached. 

“You gotta turn it to pop that sucker off” Morgan said. Arin nodded and tried again. This time he got it off and smiled proudly. 

“Nice job, now there are two bins under the counter for you to but the two pieces. Why don’t you try again” Morgan suggested, plucking the closest article of clothing nearby. She set it on the countertop and waited. Arin took a deep breath and undid the tag, this time faster than the last. 

“Now ya got it. Mkay, why don’t ya go back to the boss man, yeah? I’ll put the tags back on these babies” Arin slid out from behind the counter as Morgan replaced his position. Arin made his way through the aisles back to the boss’ office. He greeted him again once Arin stepped inside. The manager had set up a sharpie and a small slip of paper beside a small plastic pocket that said “Hello my name is” with a blank empty space. 

“Just write your name please. And try not to lose this, will you? You’re required to have it, and the fee for a new one is two dollars. Not too much of a penalty, but it’d be much easier for me if you kept it safe” the boss said as Arin sat down and opened the marker. He scrawled his name nice and large, dotting the “i” in his name with a heart. He slid the small slip into the plastic sleeve and capped his marker again. 

“Thank you Mr. Hanson. I am sure you’ll be a delight to work with. Please review over the papers. You may go home now. See you tomorrow” the boss grinned. Arin nodded and picked up his documents before walking out and making his way to his car. He may miss the school, but at least this didn’t seem so bad so far. 

Dan made sure to get home early today. He usually graded papers after school with Arin, but when he graded them alone, he felt sort of...sad? It was strange, so he just excused himself and went home. Once he walked inside, he could hear Arin talking to someone. It must’ve been Suzy. All three of them tried to talk everyday on Skype. Dan and Arin were already missing Suzy, but the thought that she was living her dream as a model in Paris made them happy enough to hang in there without her. 

“So that dickbag fired you? Just because you love someone? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” Suzy whined through the computer. 

“I know, but hey. We’ll be okay. I’ve been picking up a few jobs. I already went and finalized everything today at one. The people seemed nice there at least, but I can already tell customers are gonna be a pain in my ass” Arin groaned. 

“Okay...but don’t overwork yourself! I know you Arin, and you won’t stop until you pass out” Suzy laughed. 

“Okay mom” Arin joked. 

“Pfft! Shut up! Remind me to hit you once I get home” Suzy giggled. 

“Will do. Only 54 days” Arin sighed. Suzy blew him a kiss through the screen. 

“They’ll go by fast and before you know it, I’ll be home with you guys again. And we can go out for ice cream and snuggle and do all that shit” Suzy said. Arin nodded. 

“Can’t wait” Arin mumbled. He was really excited for her to come back, but they had already gone 38 days without her and it was getting rough. He misses the way she looked, the way she smelled, and way her lips tasted, he longed for it. He had been counting down the days in his head for so long now, despite telling himself it’ll only seem longer if he does. Still, he couldn’t keep his mind off of Suzy. 

Suzy tilted her head and waved. 

“There’s my dandelion!” she called happily. Arin turned around to look. He hadn’t realized Dan had walked in. He must’ve been listening. Dan walked forward and plopped down beside Arin, waving back at Suzy. 

“Dan, you be careful around that pissy principal. He might fire you for drinking too much coffee or not tucking your shirt or something else ridiculous” Suzy huffed. She was obviously still upset about it. 

“Heh, I’ll keep that in mind Scuze” Dan smiled, running his fingers through his mess of curls. Suzy let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

“Maybe you should get some rest Suze, isn’t it like, 1 AM over there?” Arin suggested. Suzy nodded and stretched her arms.

“You’re right…That’s gonna be so hard to get use to when I get back over there. Heh, alright. Love you guys!” she smiled, before pressing two fingers up to her lips and blowing two kisses. Arin and Dan pretended to catch them before each using one hand to make part of a heart. Suzy smiled one last time before ending the skype call. 

“Man, how did we get a girl that amazing” Dan sighed. 

“We’re just the luckiest men alive” Arin leaned his head over on Dan’s shoulder. 

“Want to see something I made today?” he asked. Dan nodded as Arin pulled up a drawing he had been working on. It was of all three of them, snuggled up close. Dan grinned and pecked Arin’s cheek. 

“Your art is freaking amazing dude. I bet you could make an entire career with it” Dan commented.

“Heh, I would, but that’s a big risk and a big dreams shared by a lot of people” Arin shrugged, “Maybe someday, but for now I’m stuck working retail” Dan pouted. Arin didn’t just like teaching at the school; it was a job where he could do art everyday. That seemed like his dream. 

“Chin up. I’m sure things will get better. They can’t get worse, right?” Dan patted Arin’s shoulder.

“I suppose” 

~~~

Arin got a good night’s sleep. He was used to staying up to at least midnight, but he made sure to get to bed early tonight. Waking up at five thirty wasn’t the most pleasant thing, but he’d get used to it eventually. He got into a more appropriate uniform, per the dress code guidelines, put on Dan’s tea, and left, this time without saying goodbye. Morgan met him at the door today. 

“Boss told me you didn’t get a keyring, so he asked me to let ya in” she greeted, unlocking the door for them, “We gotta get everything ready. The night crew is suppose to rehang, but they never do a good job, them free loading sons of bitches. After you finish folding and rehanging sweaters, head to the boss to grab your name tag and keyring” Arin nodded and went off to begin setting up and preparing for his first day. 

Arin was still hanging when customers began filing in, so Morgan took the register shift first. It wasn’t long before an old woman approached Arin. 

“E-Excuse me miss, but where are your shoes?” she asked. Her voice was croaked and she had a wrinkled tattoo. 

“Oh! Um, right over there. But I’m er… actually a guy and I’d appreciate it if-”

“You? Pfft, how dare you. Trying to fool an old woman. You should be ashamed of yourself. I know I woman when I see one! With that long hair and your breasts” she scoffed, scrunching up her face. Ah great, Arin’s first snippy and annoying customer. 

“Miss, my hair is just grown out. And I don’t know why you suppose I have a large bust or something” Arin shrugged. 

“Stop lying to me! You’re not funny. Are you just thinking I’m a big joke? Is that what? I won’t let you take advantage of me” the woman hissed. Airn just decided arguing wasn’t worth it. Honestly, he really didn’t even care. 

“You’re right, miss. I am sorry I lied to you. I don’t know what I was thinking” Arin murmured. The old lady nodded her head with a spiteful, “hmpf!”. She turned away and triumphantly and walked off towards where Arin pointed her. Morgan walked back from behind the counter and looked at Arin with a smug smile. 

“First nasty customer already?” she guested. Arin sighed and nodded. “You’ll get about a billion more of those before your shift is over. Don’t let them get to ya” Arin went back to his folding, anticipating another customer to come up and ruin his day. A few more people approached him, but none as bad as the old lady. 

“Hey, you wanna swap?” Morgan asked about halfway through his shift. Maybe if he worked at the counter, there wouldn’t be as many bad customers. 

“Please” Arin smiled, sliding behind the register. He tried to seem happy when customers came up, smiling and making small talk. Some of them would graciously talk back, while others just didn’t seem in the mood. His shift was just about to end when a woman came up to the counter holding a black skirt. Her voice was very nasally on account of her large nose. 

“Excuse me sir,” she whined, “I found this skirt but they don’t have it in my size” Arin narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. 

“Okay? So what do you want me to do about that exactly?” he asked. The woman scoffed. 

“I want one in my size of course” she hissed. Arin groaned. 

“Alright, can you show me where you found it?” he asked. He nodded her head and began to walk off, leading Arin to a clothes rack. On all four sides were different colors of the same skirt. 

“What size are you m’am?” Arin began to search through the sizes. 

“A small obviously” the lady mumbled, crossing her arms. There were no more black small skirts. 

“We’re out of this color in small” Arin turned back to her. 

“That’s what I said!”

“So what do you want me to do about it?”  
‘  
“Um, obviously get me a black small” Arin groaned.

“M’am, there are no more. I bet there’s a small in one of these other colors”Arin started looking through the grey ones, but the lady made a disgusted sound.

“I can only have black, no other color! And I’ll have you know my son has worked in retail and I know you have extras that you hide in the back. So you can’t fool me. I’d like my black skirt please” she huffed. Arin sighed, but then a thought came to him. 

“I think I can get you one if. Follow me” Arin led her back to the register counter where he dialed “2”. 

“Hello sir. A customer here knows about the secret skirts we have in back. My shift is about to end, but do you mind showing her the skirts?” Arin cleared his throat, signalling the lady was a bit of a nut. 

“Alright, I’ll be right down. You can leave now Hanson” the manager said, hanging up. 

“Alright, someone is coming to help you miss. I hope you find what you’re looking for” Arin greeted as he walked away. He was grinning at the bullshit he had just spat. He made his way home and laid down on the couch. A little less than two hours until he had to be at the diner. The dishboy gig was just a favor from an old friend who ran the diner. He had a quick lunch and called Suzy again. 

“Hey babe, what’d you do today?” he asked. She had already cleaned off her makeup and pulled her hair back into a messy bun. 

“Just a few shots for a magazine. Then we went out to go look at the collection for the next shoot. I swear, some of the clothes here are the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. How was the first real day of working in retail?” Suzy asked. Arin sighed. 

“It was… mehhhhhh. I had a few nasty customers, but I’m getting used to not minding it” Arin shrugged. 

“I remember my retail days” Suzy reminisced “I knew how much I hated it, but hey, if I quit, I never would’ve met you” 

Ah yes, the fateful day. That’s how Suzy remembered it. However to Arin, it was days. He hadn’t yet admitted it to her, but he had been spying on Suzy for a few days before he talked to her, trying to work up the nerve to talk to the cute girl who worked at the register. He almost chickened out last second, but where would he be now if he had given up? His life would’ve been so different. Without Suzy, he wouldn’t have found his first true love, and he wouldn’t have found Dan either, as Suzy encouraged him to ask Dan out. Suzy ha changed his entire life. Now even with her so far away from him, she was changing his life still. 

“I’m probably not gonna get much time to call you anymore because I get home so late. Just for these two hours in between” Arin sighed. Suzy tilted her head. 

“Dan’s not home at this time either. And you get home at like… midnight? When are you gonna get to see him?” Suzy asked. Arin’s eyes grew wide. He hadn’t even thought about that. It was true though, he hardly had time to even say hello in the mornings and with late and early shifts, he’d probably hit the bed as soon as he got home. When would he get to see Dan?

“Goddammit, I forgot about that...We’re not even gonna see each other” Arin whined. Suzy bit her lip and set out a “hmph”. 

“Arin, I think you should quit something. I mean, the reason you got fired was for Dan. What’s the point if you can’t even see him as a result?” Suzy figured. Arin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“I’ll hardly have time to eat and bathe and sleep or anything. I’m just a fucking idiot, why didn’t I think about this? Sixteen hours a day I’m at work and for most of the time in between, I’m just fucking preparing to go to the next!” Arin groaned. 

“Which are you gonna quit?” Suzy asked. Arin bit his thumbnail. He already wasn’t too fond of retail, but it paid the most. Plus, quitting that would only clear up a little time in the morning to see Dan and he’d just be stuck home all day. Dish washing sounded dull, but easy. And to get more sleep, he’d need to nap during that time, meaning Dan would see him….just snoozing in bed. So he’d have to quit the late night t-shirt printing gig. He hadn’t even started his first day and he was going to quit. But then he wouldn’t make as much money…

“I’ll have to think about it. I think I’m gonna try this set up for a week before I quit any” Arin figured. However, Suzy eyed him skeptically. 

“Arin…no one can do that much work, not even for a week. You’ll kill yourself” she whined. Arin waved his hand. 

“Pshhh, I’m Arin Hanson.. I can handle the toughest of the tough” he smiled. Suzy still didn’t think this was at all funny. 

“Just promise me you’ll be careful?” she begged. Her voice sounded the saddest it did in months. Maybe even more worried and saddened than when she said goodbye to them to go off to Paris. Arin put on a soft, reassuring smile.

“Of course. I love you Suzy” 

“I love you too Arin”

“Talk to you tomorrow?”

“You better” 

“Heh, I know, I know. 53”

“53”

“Call you later”

“See ya”

Arin hung up the skype call and sighed. This was going to be hard. He didn’t know which was hard, overworking his body, or not being able to even get a good look at Dan for a week. At least when Suzy was gone, he got to call her. Wait…

Arin pulled out his phone and called Dan. It was class time, so he obviously didn’t answer his personal phone, but Arin was going to at least leave him a message. 

“Hey Sexy Kitten. So uh, I just got done and I’m home now. People are crazy at retail stores...But um, I just talked to Suzy and realized something. I’d like to talk to you about it later, but that’s basically what it is. I...i might not be able to see you too much for a week much. I guess I sorta overbooked with work .Heh, I let my mind go right into the gutter. Please don’t be mad at me. But since we really can’t talk, I just want to say I love you. A whole lot. We’ll be able to see each other again soon, I’m promise.Just for a week while I’m figuring out what to do about all this shit. Then we can do something special, alright? I love you…” Arin left the message and groaned. That was harder than he expected it to be. He could only imagine dan listening to it later and getting upset. Fuck, he didn’t want to do this. Why did this all have to happen? It all seemed like a bad dream. He tried to shake all of this away as he changed and grabbed his keys, going to head to the diner. 

~~~

“Now just whenever the dishes pile up, scrub off the food and other shit and put it in the dishwasher. When that load’s done, take the dishes out, stack em’ over there, and make you’re they’re all dry. Capeesh?” the husky man instructed. He was the chef in the kitchen. 

“Yes sir” Arin nodded. The man suddenly reached forward and grabbed a fistful of Arin’s hair. 

“And get this in a hair net, will ya? This is just asking to fall out and create a lawsuit” he growled, reaching to a nearby table to grab one for him. Arin took it carefully, putting his hair up in a ponytail first and then slipping on the net. It was uncomfortable and itchy on his scalp, but he sucked up his discomfort and went to work. The last busboy had left some dishes for him too, and is wasn’t long before more dishes started piling up faster than he could clean. Some food had been caked on and needed some serious elbow grease to get off, which was taking a lot of time. 

“What’s the holdup Hanson? Where are my clean dishes! Can’t serve my food on nothin’!” the chef screamed. Arin was in the middle of washing plates when the dishwasher went off. 

“S-Sorry sir! One moment!” Arin called back, stacking a bunch of plated in his arms and running them over, almost dropping them on the floor. He went back to get the bowls, then the silverware, then the glasses and mugs. He did, however, drop a particularly steamy glass. Arin frantically tried picking up the pieces, cutting his hand in a few places in the process. He dumped out the glass and went back to frantically scrubbing. It was way more stressful than he thought it’d be. Not only did glass slice his hands. But every once and awhile when he was cleaning cooking knifes, he’d stumble and injure his hand even more. He hardly had time to stop and dry off his hands for band-aids. Even the soapy water started getting a reddish color, which is when the cook stopped him. 

“Son, that’s a health code violation. Get on some bandages, get a pair of gloves and get some new water in that sink” the chef growled.

“Yes sir” Arin nodded. 

“The bandages are in that cabinet. The gloves are a few shelves down. Now hurry up, you’re already behind” the chef went back to his stove. He just kept telling himself “just for a week….just for a week” but that only worked to a certain extent. What if he still needed to take this job so he could see Dan? Arin took a deep breath a he cleaned off the blood from his multiple cuts and put on some band-aids before more blood could gush out. It hurt like hell, but he still stuck it out, grabbed a pair of gloves, and went back to his sink. The time finally rolled around where he could leave.He was starving by this point, and decided to stay for a quick snack. He was almost alone in the diner, most people having left after the dinner rush. The chef brought him out a plate with two slices of bacon, three pancakes, and a small side of eggs. 

“Thank you sir” Arin thanked as he began to eat. 

“Don’t worry, it’s on the house. You may be a shitty dishwasher, but ya don’t give up, do ya?” the chef asked. Arin nodded, too busy stuffing his face too give a good response. He was just so starving. Once he finished, Arin brought his plate back, washed it off, and set it in the dishwasher. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow” Arin called to the chef before walking out. The printing press wasn’t too far. He could walk there in a few minutes, but he didn’t think he’d want to walk back here for his car when he was done, so car it was. He had already had a brief experience working a shirt printing press, It was much of an understatement though. The class took a fieldtrip to one once, and he got to demonstrate. 

“Hey! You’re the new work, yeah? Here, you got some long locks” a nice looking man at the front said. He had dark skin and though he was young, wrinkles from smiling. He was holding out a red bandana, which Arin put in his hair to keep it out of his face. 

“My name’s Josh, I’ll be showin’ ya the ropes. Come on, we have an order we need to get done tonight, so no time to waste” Josh motioned him over the printing stations. He grabbed a blank shirt along the way and set it up on one of the presses. 

“Now, how much experience have you had with printin’?” he asked. Arin shrugged his shoulders. 

“About none. Heh” Josh waved him offf and smiled. 

“It’s easier then ya think. Here, just line up the shirt, press down the screen, get a little ink on your squeegee and pull back. Now, make sure to use your body to pull back and not just your arms.There’s a good chance if you only use your arms, you’ll mess up the print and not get enough ink in a few places. I’ve already flooded the screens for ya as well. Why don’t you use this shirt for practice while I burn the actual screen, hm?” Josh instructed. Arin nodded and began trying, doing as Josh had said. The first time, the top of the print’s ink was light and sloppy. He tried again, this time doing what Josh had said and using his entire body to pull, rather his arms. It came out much better this go, and he did it a few more times on different places to get it down. After about five minutes, Josh came back with a new screen.

“Let’s get to it then” 

Arin had a fun time talking and working with Josh, but he easily grew very tired. His muscles ached from using so much strength to push with his whole body. His arms felt like noodles. 

“See ya tomorrow then?” Josh smiled as Arin sleepily nodded. 

“See you then, man” Arin yawned as he went out to his car and drove home. As he unlocked the door, he tried to slip in silently as to not wake Dan. However, it seemed that this didn’t even matter. Dan was sitting on the couch, awake. He locked eyes with Arin, before jumping up and tackling Arin in a hug. 

“D-Dan? Why are you awake?” Arin mumbled. He was surprised, but the sleepiness in his voice covered it. 

“I’m not letting you get away... I’ve lost you at work, I’m not losing you here too. First Suzy….I won’t let you go. I’ll do all I can to be with you” Dan whispered into Arin’s shoulder. Arin was taken aback for a moment, but slowly reached up and wrapped his hands around Dan’s waist. 

“Thank you” Arin slurred. Dan pulled back a little and looked him over. Arin’s whole body looked sleepy, like he was about to fall over. Dan let him lean his weight on him before carefully leading him to the bedroom. Dan positioned him on the side of the bed, pulling out a pair of Arin’s pajamas. He tugged down Arin’s jeans and slid up the soft, fuzzy pants instead. Arin lifted his hands up as Dan pulled off his t-shirt. Before Dan could replace it, Arin rolled over and moaned, getting comfy in bed. Dan rolled his eyes and changed into his own pjs, climbing in next to him. Dan intertwined their fingers underneath the sheets and pecked him quickly one last time, before the two drifted off to sleep. 

~~~

Just as yesterday, Arin put on the tea, got changed, and grabbed his keys. However, before he left, he wanted to do something. Dan was the best part of his day, it was flattering that he would stay up just for Arin. He walked up to the bedside and kissed his cheek, making Dan stir and giggle in his slumber before Arin left for work. Despite it being a Saturday, Arin still had to go in. He was still exhausted. He had only gotten a little less than six hours of sleep. It was already fucking with him. At the store today, he tried his best to smile, but whenever no one was looking, he slumped over and frowned. 

“Hey sunshine, feeling okay?” Morgan asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

“Hm? Not really” Arin mumbled. Morgan opened her mouth to speak, when a customer walked over. Arin suddenly got perfect posture and a wide grin. 

“How can I help you miss?” he asked happily. 

“Yeah, this sweater has a rip in it” she complained. 

“I’ll send it to get it fixed. Why don’t you go find another?” Arin suggested. The woman handed it to him and walked away. Arin groaned, setting it on the counter. 

“I’ll just make it through the day, then I’ll be fine. I’m probably just getting sick” Arin excused himself as he walked away from her.

At the diner, Arin rushed around fast, making dumb mistakes, but luckily no more broken cups. He did occasionally accidentally put a spoon in with the forks or place a plate too close to the edge. That night, he left without a word from the chef, only swiping a small orange from the kitchen and peeling it in the car. He hadn’t eaten anything, which made him feel even sicker. He wasn’t as talkative today, and Josh took notice. 

“You okay Ar?” he asked, pulling back the squeegee. Arin shook his head no. He rolled his head around his shoulders, cracking his neck. 

“Long night. I don’t get much sleep. The other two gigs I picked up make it so I hardly have any time in my day to do anything, you know? I can’t even my boyfriend because the of conflicting schedules. Poor guy, he’s even staying up for me at night just so he can see me” Arin sighed. 

“Sounds like you two are really close, hm?” Josh guessed. 

“Mhm. Us two and my girlfriend in France are really close” Arin said. 

“Ah, so you roll that way, yes?” Josh confirmed. Arin nodded his head with a small yawn. 

“Arin, you already look so tired, do you need a ride home maybe?” Josh asked. Arin shook his head no, trying to also shake the haze out of his eyes. 

“I thinkkk I’ll be fiiiiine” he slurred. Josh looked at him skeptically, before getting an idea. 

“So you and your boyfriend are very close you say? Is he like, your emergency number?” Josh questioned. Arin nodded his head. 

“Hm, you must put a lot of trust in him. I’m going to burn a screen, alright?” Arin gave a thumbs up as Josh walked off to another room. He found the old metal filing cabinet, pulling out Arin’s papers and finding his emergency number, calling it quietly so Airn couldn’t hear. 

“Hey, this is Arin’s boyfriend, yes?” Josh asked. 

“H-Huh? Well, yes. Who’s asking?” Dan questioned from the other end. 

“I work with him t-shirt printing. My name is Josh. Arin looks sort of… out of it. If you wouldn’t mind, could you pick him up? He seems unfit to drive home” Josh explained. 

“Of course. I’ll be there in a bit. Thank you so much for looking our for him. I’m sure you’re a nice guy Josh. Oh, and my name is Dan by the way” Dan introduced. 

“Ah, well see you in a while Dan” Josh hung up the phone and walked back out. Josh made up some lie about how he would print the screen tomorrow and in a few minutes, Dan arrived. Arin was surprised to him. When Dan said he was driving him home, Arin tried to whine and get out of it, but once he sat down in the car he was out like a light. 

“Thank you again. Life hasn’t been the most forgiving to Arin lately. I’m glad someone else is looking out for him” Dan held out his hand for Josh to shake/ 

“It was nothin’. Oh, do you want me to help you bring his car back to your place? He probably has to drive to his other jobs in the morning, huh?” Josh pointed at Arin’s parked car. 

“O-Oh… I don’t wanna put you to the trouble. I can just walk back here and get it” Dan shrugged. Josh grabbed his shoulder and grinned. 

“I insist. It’s late, you shouldn’t go walking out here” Josh said. Dan nodded. “Thank you so much”

Dan felt Arin’s pockets, pulling out his keys and handing them to Josh. 

“Just follow me home, and I can drive you back here” Dan smiled. Josh climbed into Arin’s car as the engine hummed to life. 

~~~

Arin hardly remembered anything that happened the night prior, but this morning, he scrawled Dan a thank you note. He felt awful, he couldn’t tell Dan thanks himself. He could hold him close against his chest and feel his heartbeat. Feel every inch of his skin, feel it when Dan suddenly smiled into Arin’s. Arin shook away his thoughts, put on Dan’s tea water, got changed, and left. Thank god his car was there. 

“Arin? Hey, hey there? You still with me or did death claim ya?” Morgan asked. She was snapping her fingers in front of his face. Arin suddenly gasped and sprang awake. He hadn’t realized he had gone into a daze while on the job. 

“You wanna take register today first? You look awful pale. Maybe you should take a seat” Morgan suggested. 

“I’m fine Morg, just didn’t get much sleep or much to eat yesterday” Arin murmured. She groaned and pulled out a granola bar from her pocket. 

“Eat this. You literally look like you’re about to pass out” she held it out, but Arin shook his head no, putting his hands in front of him. 

“It’s really okay. Thanks though” he thanked, getting back to work refolding. 

Today at the diner, he didn’t dwell too long on mistakes. He really stopped caring. Things stopped mattering to him. “Just get this work done. Just get it done” he’d repeat. Whenever he’d slice his hand, he wouldn’t cringe. Arin just began to keep the bandages by the sink. He’d dry his hand quickly, put one on, then go back to work without the bat of an eye. The chef noticed his changed demeanor, but was too busy to ask what was the matter. Josh had to call Dan again to pick Arin up. Josh noticed how awful Arin looked, and asked him to take a break but Arin insisted on continuing until it was his time to leave. Josh had to put this to an end. Dan brought pillows and blankets this time for Arin to sleep with, letting him get comfy and be able to relax better in the car. While Dan was driving him home, he stirred and mumbled, a thing Arin didn’t typically do in his sleep. Dan had to gently run his finger over Arin’s cheek and mumble, “You’ll be okay. I’m here. Calm down”. 

~~~

“Oh great, he left already again...I hope he saw the note I left him” Dan shrugged, sitting up in bed and staring at the imprint Arin left when he slept. A perfect outline of his body, just reminding him of all of this shit getting more and more stressful. Dan briefly stretched out on Arin’s side, burying his head in Arin’s pillow to get that familiar scent, before sitting back up and sliding out of bed. He could hear the kettle screeching in the other room. Arin began boiling his water every morning, so that’s where Dan left the note. He had written it last night before going to bed. It just asked that Arin tried to take care of himself, and reminding him to eat. It was sad Dan had to remind him to do such a simple task such as eating, but it had gotten that bad by this point. Dan pulled on his work clothes, poured himself some tea, and watched the news before heading off to work. He had two classes in the morning, 8th and 9th grades, and the rest in the afternoon. There was a small time in between he would use to call Suzy. Even Dan was getting tired of this informational video bullshit, but they didn’t exactly have a sub yet for art. To be honest, Dan didn’t want a new sub. He didn’t want someone to replace Arin’s job. He just wanted to wake up and find out this was a all a bad dream. But he was starting to lose hope in that thought. 

~~~

“Are you sure this’ll work Ross?” Barry asked. 

“We have to try Bear, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I didn’t even try to get Mr. Hanson his job back. You’ve seen how much this is affecting Mr. Avidan! He hardly talks to us anymore, and when he does he’s so dull and sad. Even if we fail, we can say we gave this a shot” Ross pounded his fist into his palm, determined to work this out. He just had to get Mr. Hanson on board with this. But they had no idea where he worked. As they spoke, Vernon was going around school, gathering information and hoping to find out where he was. Holly suddenly ran up to them, papers filling her arms. 

“I got them! I got them Ross!” she exclaimed, setting them down. They were old files and yearbooks Holly searched through the school library to find. 

“Thanks Hol. Now, we all know what we’re looking for?” Ross confirmed. Barry, Holly, and Kevin all nodded their heads, grabbed a few papers and began flipping through. Ross grabbed his own pile and started searching. After a while, he looked up at everyone. 

“Anyone find anything?” he asked. 

“Nope” Barry sighed. 

“Sorry” Holly frowned. 

“Yup” Kevin said plainly. Everyone looked at him wide-eyed. They rushed over to his yearbook. 

“Right here” Kevin pointed to the page, then to another yearbook beside it. Everyone exchanged glances quickly, smiling and nodding just as Vernon and ran up. 

“Ross! I think I got something! Arianna said her older sister started working with a guy named Arin! And Garrett said his older brother started printing with him too! And Caroline said her dad just got a new dish boy who met his description!” Vernon was talking a mile a minute, out of breath. Ross stared at him for a sec before narrowing his eyes and grinning. 

“Perfect. Guys, we’re heading to the diner after school” 

~~~

“He’s really starting to wreck himself Suzy, I’m so afraid for him” Dan rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Arin didn’t call me for the past few days… He’s called me everyday since I left. Something must be really wrong” Suzy sighed. 

“I’m so afraid. I don’t know what to do Suzy. I really wish you were here” Dan looked close to crying, but touched his thumb and index finger to his eyelids for a moment to keep them in. 

“I-I wish I was too...Just, try to hold him back until I get there, okay?” Suzy asked. Dan nodded and let out a shaky breath. 

“I will. I love you” 

“Love you too Dan”

“I’ll see you later. Another class is coming in” 

“Talk to me later. Please” Dan hung up the call and presses his forehead against his desk, groaning. He just had to stay calm. Right?

~~~

During all of Creative Arts Class, Ross was bouncing. This was gonna work, right? He was afraid Mr. Hanson would hear their plan, and refuse to be a part of it. Then everything would be ruined. But maybe he would? Maybe everything would be okay? The questioned consumed his mind to the point where he hardly realized they had arrive at the diner. 

“You really think he’s here?” Holly whispered as they stepped inside. 

“I wouldn’t doubt it” Barry mumbled. The five students walked up to the counter and took their seats. A server came up to them rather quick, as the dinner rush hadn’t yet started. 

“What can I get ya, kids?” she asked. 

“We uh… actually don’t want any food. We want to-”

“Actually I could use a little something. Can I get something spicy?” Vernon butted in. 

“Ooh! I’ll have a BLT” Kevin said. 

“I guess a salad wouldn’t hurt” Holly shrugged. 

“Can I get a tomato and bacon omelet?” Barry requested. Ross rolled his eyes. But if everyone else was…

“I’ll just get a glass of milk” he sighed, “but we actually came here also to speak to your dishwasher” 

“Hun, I’d be impressed if you could talk to a machine” the waitress giggled, “But really, I don’t know why you’d wanna talk to that dud. I’ll call him out anyway”

She walked back into the kitchen, and a few minutes later, Arin moved in the doorway, peeking out to see who had wanted to see him. His eyes went wide when he saw the kids, but he walked up to them regardless. 

“Heh, hey guys” he greeted. His voice was so raspy, and he looked so tired. 

“Mr. Hanson! We have something really important to talk to you about” Ross hopped up in his seat. 

“Hm?” Arin hummed. Everyone pulled out sheets of paper from their book bags, setting them on the counter. 

“We’ve done a lot of work over the past fews days and we know how to get your job back!” Holly exclaimed. Arin looked down at the papers, studying them closely. He seemed to be intrigued with the idea at first, but ended up sighing. 

“What’s the point? They won’t give me back my old job... “ he shrugged. His voice had suddenly turned very mellow. 

“No, no, please, look! Our plan is foolproof! We just need your help! Please” Barry begged. Arin glanced at them again, before frowning. 

“Can you...let me think about it?” Arin mumbled. The kids gasped and smiled. 

“Of course! You won’t regret this Mr. Hanson!” Kevin grinned. Ross ripped one of the papers, wrote his number on it, and handed it to Arin. The corner of his mouth raised a little, but Arin turned away. 

“Your food will be out in a minute” he muttered as he walked back to the kitchen again. All five put everything away as their food was brought out. They ate it happily, paid with their allowances, and walked out. 

“Let’s hope he gives this a shot” Vernon shrugged. 

~~~

“Hey Hanson, looks like you’ve got another visitor. Wow, two in a day. Aren’t you popular” the waitress giggled. Arin slipped back out of the kitchen, to see that familiar figure sitting in the corner booth. Arin walked over, eyes wide.

“Dan? W-What are you doing here?” he stammered. Dan looked up at him, smiling. 

“What? Can’t a guy come out to the diner where his boyfriend works to give him a little sugar?” Dan giggled, before standing up and pulling Arin into a hug and nibbling his neck. Arin’s face grew bright red. 

“D-Dan! We’re in public!” he said in a hushed, panicked voice. He was giggling as Dan’s lips tickled his skin. Dan pulled away and hummed. 

“I know, but if public is the only place we can do it” he whispered. He ran his fingers over Arin’s hips and kissed him one last time before standing back. 

“Did you eat anything today? Your stomach is growling like a bear” Dan asked. Arin bit his lip and shook his head no. Dan’s expression twisted into fear. 

“You’re not even listening to me anymore. I just want to help you Ar, please, eat this” Dan pulled out a candy bar and apple from his briefcase. 

“No Dan, really I’m fine” Arin assured. However, Dan didn’t seem happy with this answer. In fact, tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He shoved the two items into Arin’s chest before grabbing his things and sprinting outside running down the street. Arin paused, setting down the candy bar and apple before running out after him. 

“Dan! Wait! Please!” Arin tried to scream, but his lungs wouldn't let him. It came out as wisps of air. Dan was running down the street, going faster and faster with each second. Or maybe… Arin was getting slower...and slower...No, he couldn’t let Dan get away. He couldn’t. Arin pushed on, harder. 

“Dan!” Arin gasped out, this time loud enough for him to hear. Dan looked back at him with a scowl. Arin reeled and suddenly halted. Dan turned away, climbed in his car and drove off. Arin dropped onto his knees. What had he done wrong?   
~~~

Arin didn’t say a word while printing that night. When he got home, Dan was already asleep… on the couch where there was no room for Arin to snuggle up with him. Arin reached out to try and touch him. He longed to so badly, to say he was sorry, to sob into his arms, to never leave Dan again and apologize for being such an idiot. But he didn’t Arin laid down on the rug, and went to sleep, still in his clothes with no pillow or blanket. He couldn’t touch Dan, but he’d be damned if he didn’t sleep next to him. 

Dan peeked his eyes open a little earlier this morning. His stomach was in knots from worry. He thought about going up to the bathroom, when he noticed Arin blocking the floor by the couch. Dan stared at him for a moment, before carefully laying one of his extra blankets on him and turning back over to get back to sleep. 

Arin still made Dan’s tea that morning, get dressed, same routine, but he made sure to quickly eat a small snack before he left. He didn’t say a word to anyone. When Morgan tried to talk, he’d nod or make small “hmm”’s, but no real word escaped his mouth. He didn’t even talk to customers. Some complained to the manager about it, but after Morgan voiced her concern to him, he decided maybe leaving Arin alone was the best thing to do. When it was time for him to leave, he shuffled out of there without a word to anyone. He wasn’t sure why he was even doing this anymore. Everything hurt, emotionally and physically. Arin just wanted to sleep for a hundred years. He rested his forehead on his steering wheel in defeat, but...no, he couldn’t give up. Arin turned his keys, the car humming to life. He drove straight to the diner, walking in slowly. 

“Hey kid, you’re early. D’ya stop in for lunch?” the chef spotted Arin walking in from his kitchen. Arin shook his head no. 

“I don’t see any point anymore. Just let me work, please. I’ll be fine” he mumbled. The chef tilted his head, walking out and grabbing Arin’s shoulders. 

“Go home, boy. Get some rest. Take a shower, you smell like shit. Don’t come in later, I can call in my daughter to take your shift” the chef insisted. Arin sleepily pulled away, slid past the him, and stumbled back into the kitchen. 

“Stop right there, kid. You’re wreckin’ up your body. Listen, I’m doing this for your own good, but you’re fired” the chef growled. Arin stood in his spot, beginning to sway from side to side. The waitress peeked his head in the kitchen and bit the plump of her lip. 

“Hanson?” she asked. Arin wasn’t exactly sure what happened then. It all happened at once. His legs gave out, his stomach churned, his head was pounding. And the whole world began to spin. The counter grew closer to his face before a loud “Slam!” sent his world into darkness. 

~~~

*Ring! ring!* 

Dan’s cellphone went off on his desk. It was a number he didn’t recognize. He normally wouldn’t answer during a class, but with these boring movies playing, he might as well to even keep himself awake. 

“Hello?” Dan asked. 

“You’re Leigh Avidan?” the voice on the other end asked. 

“Yes. Who’s asking?” Dan questioned. 

“Miles Wilken. I work at the Bourbon Diner. I’m the head chef. You’re listed as ‘significant other’ on Arin Hanson’s resume. You’re also his emergency number” Miles went on. 

“Okay?” Dan was confused, when the words finally sunk in. His heart stopped. As Miles went on, tears welled in Dan’s eyes before spilling out. He politely hung up and dialed the office. 

“Diane, I-I need to leave school. Now. It’s an emergency” Dan choked out. His conversation went on for another few seconds before Mr. Avidan put the phone back and put his head in his hands, trying not to sniffle. However, Ross quickly noticed. He nudged Barry and pointed Dan out. 

“You think we should ask what’s wrong or leave him alone?” Ross asked. Barry eyed him carefully. 

“It’d only draw attention to him” he sighed, “w-we should ask about it later” Ross nodded. A few minutes later, a substitute walked into the room. Mr. Avidan stood up, grabbed his case, and practically sprinting out the door. The sub sat down in his place, folding their hands and sitting back. 

~~~

“Y-You have a patient named Arin Hanson? Can I see him?” Dan breathed. He had burst through the doors of the E.R., almost screaming at the woman at the front desk. The lady, picked up her phone, made a call, and looked back at him. 

“Not yet. I’ll tell you when. Please take a seat sir” she replied calmly. Dan took a deep breath and found an empty chair. He put his head down, running his fingers through his messy hair. “Please be okay...please be okay… please, you gotta be okay” he repeated to himself quietly. Dan tried to distract his restless mind by watching the TV, but the reruns of Friends couldn’t distract him from his tight chest. He played with his shirt, tapped his foot, or did any other restless, anxious movements as he waited. Finally after what seemed like forever, the receptionist spoke up. 

“You can see him now sir. He’s back there. Room 5C” she said. Dan looked up at her nodded, speeding down the hall. As he approached the room however, he slowed his pace. As he stood outside, he clenched his fists and breathed. “Be okay...please be okay” he said one last time before peaking his head in. 

Arin was lying on the hospital bed. He was hooked up to a few machines, and a strip of gauze was wrapped over his forehead. But...he was smiling. 

“Dan” he rasped, the grin growing large. Dan shuffled forward, reaching out to take Arin’s hand. Tubes were attached to it, and the skin felt so cold, but Arin did his best to squeeze Dan’s fingers. 

“I’m sorry… I’m an idiot, huh?” Arin laughed. Dan leaned forward and carefully did his best to hug him, without knocking into anything. 

“You’re my idiot” Dan whispered into his ear. 

“I-I’m gonna quit...All of those jobs. We’ll find a way to get more cash, even if it ki- heh scratch that. Let’s just say as long as you’re with me” Arin mumbled. Dan nodded. 

“Good… Oh my god dude, you smell awful” Dan giggled. 

‘Is that really what you’re concentrating on right now? Fine, I’ll take a shower once we get home, as long as you get in there with me” Arin joked. Dan began to laugh, tears streaming down his face. He pulled away. 

“I didn’t think it was that funny” Arin retorted. 

“I-I’m just really happy that you’re still here” Dan sniffed. Arin’s eyes went wide. He had been thinking about not being with Dan or Suzy, he didn’t consider how Dan would feel without him too. Arin adjusted himself a little so he was sitting up more. 

“We still gotta have our special day too” Arin reminded, “I want you to pick what we do this time” Dan whipped his cheeks with his wrist and thought. 

“To stay home and hold you. All day” Dan smiled. Arin nodded. 

“Sounds perfect” Arin replied, “Now, onto what we’re both thinking. Have you ever made love to a man in a hospital bed?” Dan burst into giggles, gently punching Arin’s shoulder. 

“You’d probably fall asleep halfway through” Dan got a smug look. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat. A woman peeked her head in the doorway. 

“Excuse me sirs. We’re going to have to keep Mr. Hanson overnight for concussion tests. Who can pick him up in the morning?” she asked. 

“Oh! Sorry doctor. Um, I can come whenever you need me. Preferably early though” Dan said. The woman nodded her head as she got Dan’s phone number. 

“Visiting hours only last for a few more minutes, so I’ll leave you two alone” and with that, the doctor walked out. 

“It’s gonna be weird sleeping without you tonight” Arin shrugged. 

“Honestly, it was so hard to get to bed yesterday. I’ll pick you up first thing tomorrow” Dan admitted. 

“I really need to call Suzy. I just wanna hear her voice voice” Arin muttered. Dan pulled out his phone and tried dialing her number, but she didn’t pick up. 

“Sorry Ar. Maybe tomorrow” Dan leaned in to kiss him one more time. 

“I’ll get going… I love you Big Cat, see you tomorrow” Dan smiled. Arin nodded and waved his hand. Dan left that E.R. feeling the happiest he had so far that week. 

Once Dan had left, Arin called a nurse in. 

“I really need to call someone. Can I use a phone?” he requested. The nurse nodded and got him a phone. 

“Can I see the pair of pants I came in with? The number is in one of the pockets” Arin had never been so thankful that he had worn the same pair two days in a row. 

“Ross? I’d like to take you up on your offer” 

~~~

“Here, come on. I’ll wheel you around” Dan said, pulling out a wheelchair and offering it to Arin. 

“Pfft, alright. Thank you my prince” Arin carefully adjusted himself into the seat. 

“Anything for my princess” Dan ruffled his hair. They had already gotten Arin’s things. All that was left was to head home. 

“So, are we gonna snuggle all day?” Dan asked as he pushed. 

“Actually I...I really want to eat and shower and sleep today… Can we have our special day tomorrow or this weekend or something?” Arin mumbled. 

“Of course. I’ll take tomorrow off too to watch ya” Dan winked. Arin suddenly remembered the plan. If this did work…

“Do you mind um...getting some food from the store later? I don’t think we have much and I am starving” Arin asked. 

“Of course” Dan replied. 

“Can you go around noon? I think I want to sleep around then” Arin requested. 

“Specific, but sure. I’ll go get all your favorite shit” Dan finally pulled up to his car. He opened the door and helped Arin in before running back to return the wheelchair. Dan soon returned, starting the car and driving off towards home. Arin caught a quick nap on the way there, and it was surprisingly easy to get him up when they got there. The two went inside, Arin immediately pulling off his clothes once the door closed. 

“Arin, were you serious about the whole showering together thing?” Dan asked. Arin looked at him with wide eyes. 

“That’s all up to you. But I really need one. If you want to, I’ll be waiting” Arin said in a fake, seductive tone. He skipped off to the bathroom, turning on the water and stepping in once it warmed up. He washed his hair, but Dan hadn’t entered. He figured Dan had decided against it, right as the shower curtains were pulled open. Dan was stripped down, grinning. He stepped in with Arin and closed them again. 

“You already cleaned your hair, hm?” Dan observed the last of the conditioner still lingering. Arin nodded, “Let me at least do your body then?” Arin blushed, but didn’t object as Dan grabbed a bath puff, put on a little bit of soap, and began to rub it on Arin’s chest, creating a bunch of suds. He washed Arin thoroughly.

“There, now I won’t be able to smell you from the other side of the house” he smiled. Arin narrowed his eyes. 

“Was it really that ba-”

“Yes” Dan interrupted. 

“Shut up, let’s just get you clean too” Arin rolled his eyes. 

~~~

“Get a good sleep, okay? I’ll be back in a few hours. I may or may not get our favorite cupcakes from that place across town. Just take it easy till I get back, mkay?” Dan slipped his wallet and keys into his pocket and gently cupped the side of Arin’s face. 

“Mhmmm, okay” Arin mumbled. 

“See you when I get back, babe” Dan pressed a kiss to his forehead before walking out. The second Arin was sure Dan had driven away, he hopped up, ran to his room, changed into a clean pair of clothes, and ran out to his car. It was time, Ross and the others were waiting for him. He drove to the school, signed in, and met the kids outside of the principal’s room.

“Ready?” Arin asked. The five nodded, knocking on the door. A quick “Come in” came from the other side. Everyone held their papers close to their chests nervously, before stepping inside. The principal eyed them confusedly, especially Arin. 

“Sir, we’d like to speak with you about your recent decision to fire Mr. Hanson” Ross started. 

“Kids, really. You probably don’t know the whole story. We just-”

“Please just listen. You claimed that Mr. Hanson broke the rule of dating a co-worker, yes?” Ross said. Principal nodded.

“How strange. You see, just three years before he began teaching, Mr. Harrison and Ms. Everson began dating while both teachers at this school. And about a year afterwards, they got married. We even spoke to them as well. Apparently you were even at their wedding” Ross stated as Kevin showed the yearbooks for evidence. 

“Well uh, yes but-” 

“We also looked at the agreement teachers signed when they are hired. There is nothing about relationships between co-workers. You only made him sign a document that said this after his first year working with Mr. Avidan. And after asking around, none of the other teachers had to sign this document” Ross went on. Vernon held out the teacher agreement for emphasis. 

“Now, it’s hard to come a conclusion to this...except that you, sir, are homophobic” Ross accused. 

“Now Mr. O’Donovan! I find that highly offensive!” Principal Martin stood up from his chair. 

“It would be a shame if the LGBT+ club saw these documents. They’d probably go to the Superintendent. Or at least Holly, Barry, and I could suggest that as we are all members. Zor better yet, we could leak this onto the internet. You saw how fast the video spread, just imagine how much publicity this story will get” Ross threatened. Arin’s eyes grew wide. He knew they had a plan, but he didn’t think they had really planned it out this thoroughly. Principal Martin began to sweat. He was speechless. 

“Of course, we could all forget all about this and burn these papers if you say...gave My. Hanson his job back?” Ross suggested. Principal Martin sat back down and huffed. 

“Alright, fine. You got me. Whatever you want. Just please, don’t let this get out anywhere and you can start again tomorrow for all I care” he begged. Arin smiled. The five stood back, leaving Arin closest to the desk .

“I...I’d like to be introduced to my co-worker tomorrow. But have the rest of the day off if that’s alright” he requested. Principal Martin narrowed his eyes. 

“You already know him though” he sneered. 

“Whatever he wants” Ross reminded. The principal groaned. 

 

“Alright. I’ll introduce you two. Now please sign a few papers and you’ll be back on our staff” Principal Martin handed over a few sheets and a pen. Ross nodded as the kids dropped their papers into the trash. Arin sat down, read through the documents, signed, before sliding them back. 

‘Thank you sir” he said before walking out with the others. As soon as the door closed, Arin lunged forward and hugged them all. 

“Thank you thank you thank you guys so much. I cannot thank you enough” he praised. All of them blushed. 

“Aw, it was nothing” Ross brushed off. 

“It was mostly Ross” Barry spoke up. Arin let go of them and turned to just face Ross. He grabbed his shoulder. 

“Thank you so much Ross” Arin stared right into his eyes to show that he was sincere. 

“It was the least I could do” Ross played it like it was no real thing, when really he was ecstatic. He had fixed this. Everything was going to be okay. 

“I’ll see you kids the day after tomorrow, alright?” Arin said. The five nodded as Arin turned away, waved, and went back home. 

“You did it” Barry grinned, resting his head on Ross’ shoulder. 

“Did you ever doubt me?”

~~~ 

Arin changed out of his duds, back into his PJ’s, and caught a quick nap before Dan was happily shaking him awake. 

“Hey babe, I hope you’re hungry” Dan whispered as Arin blinked his eyes open. 

“Come on, let’s start out with something special” Dan pulled out a box of the fancy cupcakes from across town. They were chocolate with peanut butter icing and they had a reese's cup baked into the middle. Every time they got these, they gobbled them down in a second. This time was no exception. 

“Oh my god, why does the store have to be so far” Dan whined, licking his fingers. Arin suddenly leaned forward and whipped a small bit of frosting off of Dan’s cheek, before sticking his thumb into his mouth. 

“Hey! I was gonna eat that” Dan pouted. Arin giggled, before Dan’s phone suddenly rang. He answered, said a few words, before sighing and hanging up. 

‘What’s wrong?” Arin asked. 

“I have to go into work tomorrow to meet the new art teacher…” Dan frowned, “I only have to go in the morning though luckily” Arin kept his mouth shut. He wanted this to be a surprise. 

“Hey, I’m sure they’ll be nice. Maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised?” Arin suggested. Dan shrugged. 

“Maybe… sorry, you probably don’t want to hear anything about this. Let me whip us something to munch on, then maybe we can watch a movie?” Dan said.

“Sounds great” Arin smiled as Dan got up and went into the kitchen. He made them both a plate of grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. It was easy on Arin’s stomach if he ate slow at least, which he was in no mood to do, but Dan reminded him he could get sick if he ate too much too fast after not eating much, so he held himself back. Once they finished, Dan popped in a movie and their comforter, wrapping him and Arin both in it. Neither of them made it all the way through the movie. 

~~~

“Time to meet this dickbag” Dan sighed, buttoning his shirt. 

“Oh come on, I’m sure they won’t be too bad” Arin smiled. 

“I don’t like them already because they’re taking your position. It’ll be hard to get used to them” Dan shrugged. Arin nodded and reached forward to button Dan’s last button. Dan leaned forward in return, kissing Arin’s forehead. 

“Thanks babe. I’ll be back later for our special day” Dan smiled, grabbing his suitcase, waving once again before leaving. As the door shut, Arin ripped a nice dress shirt and black dress pants from his closet, threw them on, and put on a little make-up. He didn’t normally wear it, but he still looked a little pale and sickly, and he wanted to make a good impression. Suzy had practiced on him a lot before she left, so he learned a few pointers from her that repeated in his head as he did it now. Once he looked presentable, he burst out the front door, hopped in his car, and drove off, practically bouncing. 

~~~

“Mr Avidan? I’d like you to meet our new art teacher” Principal Martin slipped into his classroom. Dan sighed and stood up. 

“This is Mr. Avidan. He’ll be working in here with you. He is our resident Music Teacher” Principal Martin grumbled. 

“It’s good to meet you” 

Dan’s eyes grew wide. Arin stood there with a big doofy grin. It just like when they first met on Arin’s first day. Except now, he had all these memories with him. It seemed like a dream. 

“I leave you two so you can get to know each other” the principal rolled his eyes and stomped out. Dan stood still. He was afraid if he moved, this beautiful dream would end and he would wake up. But he didn’t. Arin held out his hand. 

“I’m excited to be working with y-” Dan tackled him, pinning Arin against the wall. 

“I hate you. Oh my god I hate you. Are you serious? Is this really real life? Why didn’t you tell me!” Dan exclaimed, looking as if he was gonna cry again. 

“Well, now that introductions are over, you wanna head home?” Arin smiled. 

“I wanna do something first” Dan said. He leaned in and whispered in Arin’s ear, before Arin nodded. 

~~~

As the student’s filed into the classroom, everyone quickly noticed Mr. Avidan wasn’t there again today. Some made rumors about what happened, but Ross, Barry, Holly, Kevin, and Vernon knew the truth: he was being happy. However, there was something out of the ordinary in the front of the classroom today. A completed, painted canvas of two silhouettes under a blanket of stars, with only faint light from a sunset illuminating their figures. It was signed “AH”. A song was quietly playing as well. It was slow piano, with a familiar, soft voice serenading the piece and bringing it all together. The substitute picked up the lesson plan, read it over, and announced “Work on your projects based off of the examples up front”


End file.
